Wilderness sound & reflections

Sat 28 Aug 2021, 20:15

I've gone off Wilderness since it was sold to a huge US conglomerate.  You can't get a decent drink - it's just a Carlsberg franchise.  They sell something called Somersby which they claim to be a cider - please don't even try it. No decent beers.  Quality down, and no doubt higher profits to Mama and Co

Sat 28 Aug 2021, 11:10 (last edited on Sun 29 Aug 2021, 00:02)

I meant to post earlier, prompted now by the comments on the early bird tickets.

I only really thought about the layout this year from a noise p o v.  All 4 of the music stages face roughly north westwards along the valley, so away from the town - and are well placed in terms of the topography of the site.  The system on the main stage was bigger than they really need so on a clear night, Chadlington could probably be dancing to it on the green!  The Atrium (stage 2) wasn't quite as good as the previous 2 years but still way better than before that (I had a moan - effectively or not, at least they changed the sound team!) eg for the David Bowie tribute.  One irritant this year was a DJ stage by the bus / cricket pitch which faces the town and I'm told had to be turned down during the Letters Live session at the Atrium. 

The way sound travels of course is affected by many things, atmospherics, wind direction etc - but I think the site is generally as well laid out as it could be.  The hours kept and traffic etc are different questions.  But if they turned the main stage through 90 degrees and put it higher up in front of the house the whole town would be down there complaining!  Or rocking!!

Generally, as a punter I think they deserve to be given some slack in a very difficult year.  I've always been a bit ambivalent about the Poshstock aspect - but where elese could you go from a 50 piece orchestra to hip hop karaoke to a stonking brass 'big band' to hearing touching &/or funny letters read out to some folk & blues etc not to mention the range of workshops, foodie stuff and angry debates on the State of the Nation.  I rarely hit the main stage - but these days I don't know who any of them are!